This invention relates to a new and improved foam for hand wash and skin care which may be used for surgical scrubs, other sanitizing purposes, and for animal care such as bovine teat dips and teat washes, and the like.
Foam detergents and foam soaps have long been known, and in the case of hospital use, these soap and detergent foams are commonly used in conjunction with pre-wetting, followed by washing with the foam, and then rinsing off. This prior art procedure has the advantage of foaming less material, but has the disadvantage of uneven mixing with water from a pre-wetting, and hence, requires higher levels of active ingredients to effect reduction of microorganisms. Storage of ready-to-use foaming liquids can be reduced by providing concentrates which are diluted with water prior to use. However, the foam produced would not be suitable where a user has significantly contaminated hands and hence would prefer to avoid using a wet (or dry) cleaning paper which would require disposal, and hence form a contaminated storage area.
Innumerable germicide detergents, soaps and surfactants have been described in the past, but they cannot be used as a washable foam since they all require a pre-wetting prior to use since they lack the necessary inherent lubricity. Many of the same soaps, detergents, and surfactants produce foam when a foaming agent is added, however, such a foaming capability only becomes apparent when used with a foaming agent and combined with water. For example, in Applicant""s U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,984 there is described a surfactant useful for hand care, which contains a foam-thickener and which becomes activated when combined with water. However, there is no disclosure concerning the formation of foam mixtures, and this is also typical for the surfactants listed in the annual publications by McCutcheon""s, infra, and incorporated by reference herein.
Also, a large number of lubricants are known for use in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food, and these lubricants are listed in xe2x80x9cMcCutcheon""s Functional Materialsxe2x80x9d, Volume 2, North American Edition, 1994, (and succeeding yearly editions, through 1999 and incorporated by reference, herein) which is published by The Manufacturing Confectioner Publishing Co. However, none of these lubricants have been used in conjunction with a foam having inherent lubricating properties, and which may be used without a pre-wetting step.
An object of this invention is to provide a method for production and a germicide foam product therefrom which may be used as a foam wash for personal care and for cleaning equipment due to the internal lubricity of the foam, which does not require pre-wetting with water, and following a foam wash, the foam is removed by water rinsing.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method for a one-step wash for personal care such a hand wash, or equipment wash by employing a highly penetrating germicide foam product.
Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved combined foam teat dip and teat wash. Specifically, it would be highly desirable to provide a foamed bovine teat dip which would cover the outer teat area, and provide protection to the teat canal when the teat sphincter is open following a milking procedure, when the teat canal is exposed and highly vulnerable to immediate infection. Even when the teat sphincter has closed, it would still be desireable to prevent infection from reaching the area of the teat opening, and the teat area in general with reduced run off. This would enable the foam to adhere to and remain in close and protective contact with the teat. Further, it is desired to provide an apparatus with the capability of producing foam using a wide variety of surfactants, such as those disclosed, supra.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,713,423 and 4,305,346 describe an apparatus which coats a bovine teat area with fine spray or mist, but these patented devices are hand operated and do not produce any foam, let alone a foam fulfilling the above protective characteristics. It will also be appreciated that use of foam reduces the amount of surfactant used for a bovine teat dip by about one-half compared to either a spray or liquid dip, and hence an improvement in the operation of these two patents would be desirable.